


Help a Fella Out

by Werewolfbeans



Category: TFP, Transformers: Prime
Genre: M/M, commission, sfw
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-04
Updated: 2017-10-04
Packaged: 2019-01-09 04:43:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12269136
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Werewolfbeans/pseuds/Werewolfbeans
Summary: When Knockout can't quite get what he needs, he relies on the help of his most trusted partner and co-conspirator. Himself! When that fails, well, Breakdown is close enough contender.





	Help a Fella Out

**Author's Note:**

> This was a commission, originally posted on my tumblr sfw-imagines, originally written in June 2017. I'm aware this work may have weird tones, writing, and structure, and as such I ask that you try to not criticize this particular work. I would much rather you critique my more recent works. Thank you, and enjoy!

Knockout had been trying to reach the middle of his back for the past twenty minutes. He had FINALLY gotten enough of his work done to really buff and shine himself- the first time in a good few months, too- and he’s being hindered by his stupid nubby arms. He’s ready to detach one and use it as a back-scratcher. But, that’d require ruining his finish, and it’d hurt like a bitch, so, he has to find a new plan. 

 

Maybe he can duct-tape the buffer to a wall, and go at it like Earth bears and trees. He briefly considered asking one of the Vehicons for help, before realizing that they can’t even walk right half the time. If anyone was going to fuck up his finish, it’d be those thoughtless zombies. He swears, would it KILL Megatron to take on more competent people? At least then Knockout would stop mixing everyone up.

 

While he was pondering a solution to this dilemma, Knockout almost didn’t hear the door to his “office” open. He glanced over with a slight glare, half expecting a Vehicon, or worse,  _ Starscream  _ to be barging in here- but, thankfully, it was just his assistant, Breakdown. The glare lessened, to a certain degree, as he turned to face the tank of a bot.

 

“What part of ‘Do not disturb’ do bots not get?” He asked, turning back to his table of tools, while Breakdown went over to his own station. “I put that sign up for good reason- and it  _ isn’t  _ so you can keep barging in here whenever you feel like it.”

 

“Yeah yeah,” Breakdown said, dismissively. “I work here too, you know- your signs don’t apply to me. Besides, Megatron wanted me to run some tests, and Starscream’s too busy hogging the main computer.”

 

“When  _ isn’t  _ he?” Knockout asked sarcastically, trying to find a long stick of some kind. Maybe he can make his own back-rubber.

 

A quiet snort from his conjunx endura was all he got in reply, before the quiet  _ click click click  _ of servos tapping at the keyboard filled the quiet. Knockout paid barely any attention to him afterwards, too wrapped up in his little problem. He’d be willing to just let it go, but then there’d be one matte spot in the MIDDLE of his back, and honestly, he’d rather die than deal with  _ that _ .

 

And then, a thought occurred to him. Breakdown was a trusted individual...most of the time. Surely he can handle this simple task, right? Sure, he’s built for breaking things, and the more...delicate tasks usually go to Knockout for a reason. But, he trusts Breakdown. Besides, he knows he can always tear Breakdown apart if he smudges anything.

 

“Say,” Knockout started, stroking his chin a little. “Since you’re not doing anything important-”

 

“These are direct orders from Megatron, Knockout. He considers everything important, and I’d rather keep my head on my shoulders.”

 

“Oh, forget it. He can wait just a few minutes, can’t he? Besides, this is much more dire.” Knockout said, sauntering over to Breakdown, who was trying his best to ignore the smaller bot. “Don’t you want to help your partner, Breakdown?”

 

“Not particularly.”

 

“Wrong answer. Anyways, I need you to buff my back.” Knockout said, gesturing with his thumb to the buffer on the table.

 

“Knockout, please, there’s sparklings present-”

 

A very firm glare silenced Breakdown, until he erupted into laughter, which just made Knockout even  _ more  _ annoyed.

 

“If you’re done shoving your head in the gutter,” Knockout huffed, crossing his arms, “I’d appreciate this being done  _ today _ . I have to deal with Starscream later, and I don’t want to be in a worse mood than I am already.”

 

“I wasn’t aware you  _ had  _ a good mood.” Breakdown joked, idling the computer, and going to the buffer. “But, fine, if you insist. Not like I enjoyed typing logs into the database, anyways.”

 

“Just be sure you don’t scratch anything, while you’re back there,” Knockout said, right as Breakdown got to work with the buffer. “It’s hard to replace paint on your back, and we all know only  _ I  _ can actually apply paint.”

 

Neanderthals. 

 

“Yeah yeah, just be quiet and be still. I may accidentally scratch your entire backside if you keep moving.” Breakdown said, already preparing for the yelling and cursing. It was always so easy to rile Knockout up, it was almost like a game.

 

“You wouldn’t DARE-”

“Oh relax! It’s a joke- I wouldn’t do that to you.” Breakdown promised, kissing the side of Knockout’s head. “Besides, Megatron would kill me too if I made our only doctor angry.”

 

“And you keep that in mind, next time you decide it’s time to practice your sparring.” Knockout huffed, crossing his arms. He swears, Breakdown doesn’t know the difference between a friendly punch, and a full on  _ swing _ . He’s sent more than a couple ‘cons to the Medbay from his ‘friendly sparring’.

 

The two fell into silence afterwards, the only sound being a dull, almost hypnotizing buzz from the buffer. Knockout almost fell for it- after all, Breakdown, while normally a wrecker, was rubbing in  _ just  _ the right spots- not being too rough, but not being too gentle. Knockout wondered if this was why humans enjoyed backrubs so much. Maybe they’re just weird little insects. The world may never know.

 

It wasn’t until Breakdown started talking- asking him if he was plotting his death already- that Knockout realized how in a trance he was. It honestly startled him- and Breakdown, due to Knockout’s jump. 

 

“Easy slick- no need to get so in a tizzy, it’s just me.” Breakdown said, putting the buffer down, and putting a hand on Knockout’s shoulder.

 

“I know- you just. Startled me is all, alright?”

 

It took a moment, but Breakdown broke out into a grin. “Oh? So you were  _ enjoying  _ yourself, hm? And you thought I’d chip your chassis.”

 

“I still have authority to kick you out, you know.” Knockout huffed, crossing his arms. As much as he hates to admit it, Breakdown can be quite the charmer- even if he’s a dunce half the time. But he just gets so  _ smug  _ whenever he knows he caught Knockout with his pants down- so to speak.

 

“Relax, relax,” Breakdown said, patting Knockout’s shoulders. “You don’t have to yell at me- Primus knows how we  _ all  _ hate it when you yell. Why don’t we just go back to what we were doing, hm?”

 

All he got in response was a huff, an eye squint, and a quiet, but angry ‘ _ fine _ ’. At that, he picked the buffer up again, switching it on.

 

….Only to be met with the sound of nothing happening.

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Knockout groaned. Of COURSE it’d run out of batteries- why wouldn’t it? He was halfway done with the buffing, and now he has to deal with this. They don’t even MAKE batteries for this buffer anymore- they’re all on Cybertron. “I might as well crawl into a hole and die.” He said, dragging his hands down his face.

 

Breakdown, however, was thinking sensibly- as is often the case. He was already searching for the wax rag Knockout keeps in case of emergencies. “Oh, don’t be so melodramatic. Don’t you have a rag for this exact scenario?” He asked, rolling his optics.

 

“I did- but then  _ Soundwave  _ decided it was a liability, with it lying around and whatnot. He made me get rid of it- and NOW look at what happened! I’m telling you, Breakdown- this is fate telling me my time has come.” He declared, draping himself across the examining berth.

 

Luckily, he had a backup. After all, what good doctor  _ doesn’t  _ have backups for everything? After Breakdown gave him a long, unimpressed look, Knockout straightened up, rolling his optics. “Check the bottom drawer. There’s a stack in there.”

 

With a slight snort, Breakdown managed to locate the missing rags- and the wax. Guess it wasn’t such a dire emergency after all- despite what Knockout wanted him to think.

 

“Just hurry up and get this over with. I don’t want someone walking in on me, dare I say,  _ undressed. _ ” Knockout said, turning around for Breakdown again. “Think of the rumors! The  _ shame  _ of it all. Why, I’d go into spark-arrest!”

 

“Will you just shut  _ up  _ for once!” Breakdown laughed, having to make sure he didn’t scuff anything on Knockout. He loves how dramatic his partner is- honestly! He thinks it’s cute, and it adds some spice to the otherwise boring and drab life on the Nemesis. Knockout was a breath of fresh air, in Breakdown’s eyes, and he didn’t hesitate to let his conjunx endura know that.

 

“Fine,” Knockout huffed, already melting into Breakdown’s rubbing. “But if you mess up  _ one  _ thing, Primus as my witness, I’ll-” Oh.  _ Oh that’s a nice spot.  _ As soon as Breakdown started kneading into a spot on Knockout’s back, he practically melted. He forgot how strong and firm Breakdown’s hands were, and Primus  _ knows  _ he missed this. He almost didn’t catch onto Breakdown’s little laugh- which, honestly, he doesn’t care about right now.

 

“What’s wrong? Cat got your tongue?” Breakdown teased, narrowly avoiding Knockout’s elbow trying to collide with his side. “Oh relax- I’m just yanking your chain, Doc!” He laughed, before giving a quick kiss to Knockout’s cheek. “Just relax- I’m almost done, anyways.”

Well, that was a tad disappointing. Knockout was already enjoying himself- why did it have to end so soon? Sure, Knockout liked to gripe and complain about everything, but the  _ one  _ time he finally enjoys something, and poof! It’s gone. He debated telling Breakdown to ‘make sure’ everything was actually buffed back there, but, that’d require him telling Breakdown he enjoyed this. And Primus KNOWS how insufferable Breakdown can get when he knows Knockout enjoys something- especially with said something is caused  _ by  _ Breakdown.

 

“You know,” Knockout started, leaning against the wall. “You don’t have anything  _ better  _ to do, right? And I’m not even sure I got my entire back, and-”

 

“Oh hush,” Breakdown said, applying more wax to the rag. “You don’t have to hide it. Besides, whoever did this last time did a really shitty-”

 

“You know. I don’t want you in here anymore.” Knockout said, turning to push Breakdown out. “I don’t need any  _ hateful comments  _ on my BEAUTIFUL work.” 

Breakdown laughed- holding up his hands. “Alright, alright! I’ll keep it to myself, geez! No need to get so red in the face, Doc,” He said, leaning down, so that he and Knockout were face to face. “You’d just look like a giant tomato, otherwise.”

 

The indignant huff he got was all Breakdown got in response, making him snicker to himself. Of course, this only pissed Knockout off even more.

 

“I swear- it’s like I’m the only sane one in this ship!” Knockout exclaimed, snatching the rag out of his partner’s hand. “You all just love to rile me up, and  _ frankly,  _ I’m sick of it-”

 

Knowing his partner, Breakdown could tell this tirade would go on for an hour, at  _ least _ . So, he leaned down again, and planted one of those big, gross kisses right on Knockout’s mouth. The split second it took Knockout to go from shocked, to annoyed, to angry, was long enough for Breakdown to get out of arm’s length away from Knockout- just in case.

 

“Well! If you’re just going to be a  _ child  _ about all of this, perhaps you’d better go.” Knockout insisted, turning away from Breakdown. Even  _ if  _ he enjoyed sharing kisses with him, he has standards, and if Breakdown’s mouth is wetter than the Earth’s oceans? Well,  he was just shit out of luck.

 

“Aw- Doc, honey, c’mon. It was just a kiss.”

 

“More like a tsunami.” 

That got a snort out of Breakdown, causing him to cover his mouth at Knockout’s glare. “Okay, okay, fine- what about a do-over? I promise I won’t drown you, you sparkling.”

 

With another huff from Knockout, he took that as a yes, giving him another quick kiss. At least this one didn’t end up with a broken faceplate.

 

“ _ Now  _ will you leave me alone, and get back to work.” Knockout suggested, more than asked. Of course, by ‘work’, he meant finish his backside, but the audio logs didn’t have to know.

 

“Fine, fine, just try to not blow a gasket this time.” Breakdown joked, narrowly avoiding Knockout’s tires as he turned around. 

 

As soon as he started up again, Knockout forgot why he was annoyed at him in the first place. If only they could avoid any more distractions- he thinks he can just drift away, and stay like this. These quiet moments were nice, after all. Not a lot of time to spend alone- let alone spend it with a special bot.

 

Of course, like everything, all good things must come to an end. After a few more blissful minutes, Breakdown started putting everything back up. It almost made Knockout sad- after all, he was sure Breakdown worked out a few knots in his chassis in the process.

 

“Say,” Knockout started, rolling his shoulders a bit to get used to the feeling. “You’re not…. _ doing  _ anything later, right?”

 

It took Breakdown a moment, but when he realized Knockout meant he wanted some alone time, he broke into a grin. “Well,  _ now  _ I ain’t doing anything later.”

 

Knockout was extremely glad to hear that.


End file.
